The quality of speakers and information is equal, if not better, and can be customized for the audience members.
I just presented in Portland and used examples of what to do based on the companies attending so they could leave with actionable items.
At Zenith in Duluth and Barbados SEO, you had some of the most sought-after SEO professionals in the world at a fraction of the normal cost, including Lily Ray, Michael Icon King, Aleyda Solis, Purna Virji, Andrew Shotland, and Cindy Krum.
I also got to meet new people and learn new things from like Isa Lavahun and Apurva Bose.
The cost of a ticket is a fraction of the national shows, but the speaker quality was the same (if not higher).
I mentioned the networking and bonds from these local shows above. Here’s one of many examples of how local shows lead to international relationships.
At a local State of Search conference, Arsen Rabinovich and I were both speaking and met for the first time. He invited me out for pizza (my favorite food), and we bonded.
A couple of years later, he forced me to sit at a blackjack table (I hate card games), and that was when I met the other players, who included Aleyda Solis (Spain), Dawn Anderson (England), Lily Ray (NYC).
If I hadn’t been at that State of Search, I wouldn’t have had the next opportunity (or that really good pizza), and each of these people has impacted my career and speaking at different points in time now.
Getting Answers To Difficult And Impossible Questions
Once the relationships were built and people trusted me, I found myself being invited to private communities hosted on custom URLs, on Facebook, etc.
This is where the most value came from, as I attended marketing conferences. These groups are carefully vetted, and where you can get detailed answers with actual data based on actual experience.
We all encounter situations we don’t have answers to and that we cannot ask publicly – whether it is an NDA or your company prohibits sharing problems outside of the organization.
These groups are where you can ask and share as much as you are able, and others will respond with what they did or how they solved the issue.
If nobody has solved the issue before, people in the groups often look for solutions or run tests on their own websites and platforms to see if they can replicate the problem and then fix it.
When I didn’t have a software solution for other channels, someone else in these groups did.
The added benefit of being in the private group is these people won’t say the actual issues they have with the products publicly, but they go into detail on what to avoid and the reasons why.
It helped me avoid pitfalls when my clients were about to invest in new tools and tech stacks.
One of the most valuable assets I gained from attending conferences is being able to get solutions in a matter of minutes or days, rather than researching for weeks and hoping to find answers.
If I didn’t go to the big ones and wasn’t invited to speak at them, I wouldn’t have met these local groups from around the country and the world.
If I didn’t attend those, I wouldn’t have been able to market as effectively locally which impacts both local and national marketing campaigns.
Most importantly, I wouldn’t have access to the communities and groups that help me solve problems.
Attending Conferences Helped Me Build Essential Relationships
Conferences, whether they’re marketing, human resources, IT, or even houseware and photography shows, have more value than a bit of information in a session.
It’s the network you build, the relationships you form, and the power they add to your career, financial, and mental well-being.
If I didn’t get out of my comfort zone and begin attending, speaking at, and in some cases exhibiting at these shows, life would be a lot harder.
I still have struggles just like everyone, but I have a network and community to help me through them, thanks to attending conferences.
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